


Volatile

by ABANDONEDACCOUNT



Category: Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, symptoms of PTSD mentioned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-19
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 04:18:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5033431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ABANDONEDACCOUNT/pseuds/ABANDONEDACCOUNT
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When people complain about a tight chest in her presence, when they feel light headed from being in her circle of friends and when they murmur of a girl lighter than the clouds, she smiles because the wind is on her side. OC present and told from their POV. Spideytiger mentioned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really know where the idea for this story came from, but I'm glad it did because I've been thinking about this for weeks and it's annoyed me to no end that i haven't known what to write down. Then, suddenly - this appeared. Hope you guys enjoy.

**Chapter One**

Though friendship is

not quick to burn,

it is explosive stuff

_ **\- May Sarton** _

* * *

And to think, he'd  _complained_  about doing patrol tonight.

Scouring the rooftops had never been his favorite activity - his heart was in the stars, not on the concrete ground. Even before the star-twisted helmet had found it's way into his hands, his head had been permanently in the clouds, so it was miracle that with his feet dangling over the lip of the world of New York and the glare of his phone in his hands, he'd looked up long enough to find the scrambling form of Batroc. The leaping thief's agile body leaped out of the staircase doorway to the roof, his laugh mingling with the background alarms to his escape.

A smile tugged at his lips and his fingers pocketed the phone carefully away in his suit, standing and stretching with a self-satisfied smirk on his mouth. He lingered where he was, his eyes momentarily searching the stars - Batroc was easy prey, easy enough for the last of the Nova corps to apprehend. "Time to go to work."

The blur of power from his helmet bled down and encased his entire body in a blue glow, his feet making a scraping noise on the rooftop as he was lifted into the air. Elation flooded his body, the sensation of flying was something he treasured dearly. So he set off, arms thrown outwards after the thief that jumped rooftops like it was child's play.

But Batroc disappeared suddenly, veering off of his course sharply and violently when he saw the glowing Nova tailing him, body twisting almost violently in shock at the appearance of the vigilante. Nova felt his lip turn down, a rumble of annoyance fitting itself into his throat as he sped up, in order to catch up to him.

But as he turned to follow Batroc the way he came, Nova felt pain bloom in his chin and he dropped, heart and body falling from it's perch in the stars and smacking into the concrete. A stinging sensation in his upper lip stole focus from the vague recognition of Batroc's brittle laughter. His hand pressed to his mouth and pulled away - blood coated his fingers.

The acrobatic leaper took the chance of the disorientated Nova, bouncing away down the rooftops as he collected himself, brows turning down in anger. Never had Batroc laid a finger on him - he was usually bouncing away, effortlessly slipping out of their fingers and out of jail, back on the streets by the next few days. So he felt his blood boil when the usually useless thief had gotten the jump on him.

"Alright, leapin' loser," he muttered angrily as he watched the retreating form of the yellow-and-purple clad villain, "enjoy the night in a jail cell."

The vigilante teenager reared upwards, much like a bull seeing red and shot through the air towards the escaping criminal. But as Batroc dropped downwards to a lower level of a building and disappeared from sight, Nova suddenly heard a sickening crack - bones being broken and a yelp of pain. In surprise, he pulled back, hovering in mid-air with a perplexed expression and cautiously hovered over towards where Batroc had disappeared, touching the ground and looking downwards.

Below him, Batroc wasn't alone. Below him, a figure clad in blue stood over the unconscious form of the thief, winding a coil of rope around him swiftly. Nova felt his top lip curl - Batroc was  _his_  to take out, not this... _whoever_  this was!

"Hey!" he hollered, jumping upwards and onto the lower level of the building, stalking over to the figure that jumped in shock, bouncing away from the unconscious figure of Batroc who groaned in pain. Nova vaguely noticed a marring of bruises across the criminal's cheek. "What the heck do you think you're  _doing!?_  I had him!"

The figure turned, and Nova felt his anger melt slightly at the terrified expression on the stranger's face - on the  _girl's_  face. He hadn't seen the long tendrils of dark hair down her back in the smear of the night, hadn't noticed the soft and shorter body with telltale signs of a female and felt slightly guilty at the fear in her dark eyes, wrapped with a thin, blue mask. Now, he noticed, that she wasn't just a random civilian who had gotten scared and attacked - she was dressed in a light blue, high-neck open-shoulder shirt that continued down to her elbows, seeing to end in a down pointed triangle at the front and back, over loose fitting navy pants, tucked into combat boots. On her forearms, seemed to be light blue arm guards, as if she had been bred to fight.  _Another vigilante, maybe?_

He was tugged from his analysis of her when her body suddenly relaxed, her tight shoulders relaxing and an easy smile pulling at her mouth, though distrust still bristled in the corners of her eyes. "Oh, hi," she answered, stepping forwards and finishing the knot over Batroc's slumped form between them, "you were probably the guy that was chasing this one, right?"

_Her accent...English? Australian?_  "Yeah, I was - and I had him. So who're you, jumping in on confidential business, kid?" Nova crossed his arms across his chest securely, slipping into the authoritative tone of Director Fury, spearing his eyes at the olive-skinned girl that hardly seemed to mind his sharp tone. His mouth turned downwards, as her hands swiped up the bag of stolen items from beside Batroc's head.

She jokingly swung the bag with the glee of a child, taunting him with the goods he'd failed to apprehend. "Relax, dude, I just gave you a helping hand, that's all. Don't worry about it," she answered, tossing the bag at the brooding hero, who caught it sloppily, looking to the full bag and back up to -  _she was walking away._  "Just forget about this, alright? Do with him what you will, I'm done for the night."

His jaw clenched like stone as she walked away to the parapet of the building, and as he tucked the bag away, he cupped his mouth. "Hey, get back here, kid! J-Just for the record, I didn't need your help!"

Nova could have sworn, her shoulders lifted with constrained laughter as she looked over the mouth of the stone-polished world. "Alright Sparky, whatever you say," she called back, and jumped into the gullet of New York. Nova felt annoyance crawl up his lungs and as he threw Batroc over his shoulder, he cast a glance over his shoulder - she didn't look back up.

* * *

The second time she made an appearance was on another star-studded night, with no criminals or terrified glances as she lay on her back, one leg crossed over the other and her arms under her head, hands clasped. Nova felt a scoff work it's way into the air from his mouth - lounging around in the dark, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

When he coughed, standing over her with hands on his hips - more adult than he'd ever been with someone - he noticed her entire body flinched, eyes snapping open and searching her surroundings with an accuracy that could rival Hawkeye's shooting. When her eyes met his, or rather the white panels of his helmet, she relaxed slightly, but she still curled further in on herself.  _Broadcasting an image of trust, yet completely unyielding. Why?_

"What're you doing?" His voice trilled with boredom, but inside, he was more intrigued than ever. She was strange, and unpredictable - popping up in places she shouldn't be, lounging around as if she owned the place - it annoyed him. She tilted her head upwards, her lips coiling upwards at the intrusion of her space. "Don't smile like that - it's dangerous out here, especially at night. Shouldn't you be at home? Aren't your parents worried?"

Her shoulders shrugged, or as much as they could pressed into the gravel on the rooftop. "Probably. Aren't yours?"

"Mine aren't in New York. Seriously -  _what_  are you doing?"

Pulling back the annoyance from his voice, trying not to give her the satisfaction of seeing him bristle, she gestured downwards with a jerk of her body, brow lifting delicately above the fabric of the light blue mask. "What does it look like? I'm lying down, free country and all that," she answered, her eyes catching onto him like a hawk as he moved to stand at her side, looking up at the sky above. "Why don't you lie down with me?"

His eyes, perched in the pollution-riddled sky -  _New York is nothing like Arizona, Kaelynn would hate it_  - his head snapped downwards, jaw opening and closing around graveyard words, dying on his tongue. Even if he was known for being the laziest on his team, he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. "W-What? No, that's just...just stupid! I'm not gonna lie down on the job."

Her mouth quirks upwards, and a scar by it's corner turns white with the tugged effort. "C'mon, Sparky, you know you want too," then, she tore her gaze from his, eyes finding themselves lost in the sky. "Besides, if you squint, you can kinda see the stars."

It wasn't much, but it prompted Nova to blow out the constricted air in his creaking lungs and drop his weight, lying his head next to hers on the rooftop and staring upwards, eyes narrowing. True to her word, the spark of stars could be seen through the light pollution of the ever-awake city and -

"Are you squinting?"

Nova sighed.  _"Yes."_

"Sorry, Sparky."

" _Don't_  call me  _Sparky._ Seriously, _why_ is that even a nickname for me?"

A soft sound broke the air and her realized it was her laughter, cracking the silence like the glass of a mirror. It was full-hearted and loud, and he found his own lips tugging upwards gently before settling back into the line as he noticed the veil of constellations behind the smudge of light pollution.  _Maybe Kaelynn_ would _like New York. If she squinted all the time._

When her chest stopped heaving with laughter, she turned her head towards his, the dark brown hues piercing his. "So, you said something about a job. Are you a full-time hero or something, 'cause I can't imagine you get paid for that."

A 'hmm' sound rattled in his throat and he turned to her, watching as even though she looked at him and was physically there, her eyes seemed to be a universe away from this New York city rooftop. "I'm not going to tell you that, I don't even  _know_  you."

"Then why are you lying here?"

"I...I don't know! I should be down near Queens by now, not babysitting you," he hissed, turning his head away and glaring upwards, turning the heat from it upwards. He noticed how she moved away slightly, angling her body the other way from him. She didn't seem to like being scolded or shouted at.

Her smile diminished, flattening into a line across her face and turning the crescent scar white once again. "Sorry, dude, I just thought you should relax. By all means, go to Queens, besides," she answered, sitting up onto her elbows, staring somewhere that Nova could never quite reach, no matter how far he flew, "you don't even know me, right?"

Vaguely, he wondered if she was manipulating him into the guilt that pooled into his abdomen like hot lead, burning his insides with the feeling. His mouth opened to push an apology between them when -

_"Nova!"_

Both jumped at the sudden screech from Nova's stomach, where his hands lay on top of each other. Whilst he groaned, Nova spotted how the dark-haired girl scrambled away like a frightened cat, eyes blown wide with shock as she put distance between the two. Beneath the helmet, he raised a brow at her odd behavior before turning to the annoying spider-themed hero on his wrist.

"Nova, where the  _heck_  are you? We've been waiting for you at the rendezvous point for like, twenty minutes!" snarled Spiderman, obviously enjoying the chance to chew Nova out for being late. In the background, he could hear White Tiger complaining about the wait. "Seriously, you need to - "

"Calm down,  _Webhead_ , don't pop a web, I'm coming," he answered, standing up as he did so and adjusting his watch, casting a look towards the girl as she brushed off excess dirt from her legs, and bent down to retie her boots. "I just had a run-in with some C-list baddies, no harm no foul. I'll be there before you can say  _Nova's awesome_."

He cut off the growling spider and sighed, rubbing a hand across his chin as he turned towards the shorter of the two, watching as she quirked a brow at the lie he'd told his teammate. She stood opposite him, hands on her hips as he addressed her. "I gotta - "

"You gotta go. No worries," she answered with a wave of her hand, fingers delving into the crazed curls of her hair and throwing it up into a pony tail, the same soft smile on her mouth but somehow, he knew it seemed fake. "Go meet your friends, I'll see you another time,  _Nova_."

She enunciated on his hero name specifically, snickering behind her orange painted fingertips when she turned to walk away as he straightened, noticing that he'd  _never learnt her name_. A choked, shocked noise tore from his throat and before she could make her escape down another fire escape, he threw a hand out. "W-Wait, I never learnt your name."

She didn't even turn as she threw a hand up, waving at him as she disappeared. "I'm no-one you need to remember, that's why," she answered, turning to slide down the ladder, and she peered over the first rig of the twisted metal. "Stay safe, Nova!"

When she disappeared down the ladder, he didn't follow. He shrugged his shoulders and bled the same blue power he always had, shooting into the air and down towards Queens.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Alone we can do

so little; together we

can do so much

_**\- Helen Keller** _

* * *

The blast ricocheted, sending a painful ringing across his temple and throwing him back off course, a lump of dusted debris lodged into his abdomen. His shoulders planted themselves into the wall behind him, as the Goblin's maniacal laughter bounced in the air. He felt a hand brush across his shoulders, a voice filtering back into sound, asking him if he could get up. Nova lifted his head, seeing the down-turned lip of Powerman.

".. _va!_  Nova, can you hear me, man? Can you get up?" With a shaking nod, Powerman hooked a hand into his teammates and pulled the shorter up, who wobbled slightly on his feet but nonetheless, stayed rooted like a tree to his spot.

A hand pressed against the eye panels of his helmet, somehow comforting, as he groaned. "Man, when'd he learn that trick? I'm gonna be smelling like pumpkin seeds for weeks."

Powerman constrained a chuckle at his teammate, who shook his head free of pumpkin seeds - literally - and the Goblin's laughter. The power from his helmet encased his body once more, lifting him into the air as Powerman disappeared back into the fray, calling back over his shoulder, "no time to think about it now - just hit him!"

Nova needed no more guidance, throwing himself into the air above the dust and clutter that circled the streets. He could see Spiderman web-slinging citizens to safety, with White Tiger sprinting across the rooftops above him, leaping off and throwing herself towards the gliding Goblin above Powerman and Iron Fist's heads. She roared loudly as her claws swiped downwards at the criminal - the mutated Norman Osborn - but missed as a pumpkin bomb lodged itself into her stomach, throwing her back away from the battle.

He would've dropped down to catch her, had Spiderman not swung down and caught the female vigilante around the waist, curling her protectively into his chest before placing her down. Nova turned back and with a wide grin, threw himself downwards, pooling the energy into his curled fists and firing haphazard shots at the flying beast.

Dodging the pumpkin bombs tossed at him, snickering as Spiderman groaned when one exploded above him, showering him with pumpkin debris, he yelled, "yeah, that's right, ugly! Focus on me," he spun backwards, dipping back down as the Goblin roared in agitation at not being able to hit the flying Nova, "this is pay back for all the water I'm gonna use this week to get that  _nasty_  pumpkin smell off of me!"

Unfortunately, another bomb found itself slamming into his shoulder, knocking him off-course and down into the concrete. Pain blossomed across his side, and he grit his teeth as he pushed himself upwards into a standing position.

The others joined him, Iron Fist on his left and Tiger on his right; Spiderman dropped down in front of them, crouching in position before whirling around on his teammate's, throwing his arm out towards the screeching citizens. "Guys, go protect the civilians! I've got this."

Nova could practically feel Ava's growl under her mask as she stepped forwards, leveling a stare at her boyfriend. " _No,_  Spidey, we're a team. We're in this together."

Beside him, Iron Fist nodded as calm as ever. "A problem shared is a problem halved, Spider. Let us help bring him back to SHIELD in one piece."

He watched as Spiderman practically deflated in the gaze of his friends, annoyed that he couldn't bring the Goblin back himself and try to cure him, and Nova felt a worm of pity scrawl itself across his chest. He knew the guilt still ate at the teenager, how he felt completely responsible for letting Norman be exposed to his unstable DNA, but what mattered now was containing him and keeping New York city safe another day.

But, as Spiderman moved to utter orders to his team, the Goblin reared upwards on his glider, out through the veil of dust and dirt, a thick and greedy smile painted across daggered teeth. In his hands, he nonchalantly bounced a larger pumpkin bomb than the rest up and down. "Ah, but children, a problem you cannot find is a problem that cannot be solved," he said, before tossing the pumpkin bomb downwards beneath him, making it explode on the ground below and throw up the charred remains of the New York street.

Dust blinded them and ash clung to their bodies, but they only coughed as the air was stolen from their lungs and crouched downwards. "Everyone, stay alert!"

"Is he gone?"

"I dunno, he just up and bounced," answered Powerman, hands thrown out around him with curled fists, ready to throw a punch if needed. He coughed up dust and fear and spat it back down, ready to fight when suddenly, he felt the air shift around him. Powerman spun on his heel, fists held upwards but finding nothing there except swirling debris. "I think he might actually be gone. Guys, he might - "

_"Powerman!"_

The shout broke the silenced air like a bullet, cracking it apart at the seems with the horror in Iron Fist's voice. Although Powerman was quick, even for his hulking size, he wasn't quick enough as the Goblin pierced through the veil of dust like an agile bird, quick and far to fast to catch. His hand lifted, a razor sharp object clutched between the large digits and aimed right at him.

Although he knew that the object could hardly even scratch his skin, he flinched in instinct, and threw up his arms when out of nowhere, something dropped in front of him. Something small, but seemed to breathe power all the same as a sudden giant gust of wind was thrown up between Powerman and the Goblin, sending the Goblin flying back on his glider with a sudden screech of surprise, knocking him off onto the ground.

Powerman blinked and pulled down his arms, finding a girl wrapped in blue around two feet shorter than him, arms thrown outwards and heaving air greedily back into her lungs. His jaw slackened slightly, as a blue-masked face turned to look upwards at him, a breathless smile seeming to take up the expanse of her round face. "Sorry, you looked like you were in a bit of a bind."

The dust had cleared from the blast of air, settling back onto the streets, and Nova had hovered above the mess of dirt to try and find the Goblin in a hurried frenzy when Iron Fist had screamed and fear had struck him hard across the face when the Goblin suddenly disappeared in the veil that covered his teammate's. As Nova moved to throw himself downwards to protect his friend, the gust of wind had thrown him back into the air, tumbling over himself and having to forcefully to grasp onto his helmet to make sure he didn't lose it in mid-flight.

Blinking back the wave of dirt that had assaulted him from the sudden intrusion of wind, Nova groaned and turned to look downwards, only to find his entire body slumping in astonishment at the sight. The girl - the vigilante - she'd thrown herself into the path of fire for his friend and had somehow thrown the Goblin back with a force greater than a hurricane. But not only was he surprised, he was  _angry_.

Spiderman wasted no time in slinging a web and coating the goblin in it before he could stand, coating another over his mouth when he started to spew profanities at the girl. "Nighty-night, Gobby. I'll take you back home to SHIELD in a minute," muttered the Spider, slinging back round to meet his teammate's as they grouped together around the girl, who seemed to shrink even further under the intense gazes.

However, when Spiderman moved to interrogate the newcomer, he was interrupted by the blazing Nova. "What are  _you_  doing here?"

"Oh, hey Sparky."

"Seriously why are - how did you even _do_  that - I didn't even know you  _had powers!_ "

"Because you never asked!"

"Because you'd never  _tell_  me when I did!"

"Well  _sorr-ee_  if I wanna keep things secret from you, it's my life!"

"You shouldn't even be here, you could get hurt! You aren't wearing any protective gear anyways!"

"And what, that bucket of yours is protective?"

" _Enough!_ " screeched White Tiger, throwing out an arm and whacking the yelling teenager across the back of the head, sending the boy stumbling away and huffing out an angered breath, glaring the shorter girl down as she did him. He raised a hand and shoved it under the back of his helmet, rubbing the sore spot on the crown of his head that White Tiger had assaulted.

In White Tiger's absence as she fell away, Spiderman stepped forwards and Nova swore he could feel the heat of the boy's glare under the mask, but he only huffed in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest and sending his gaze to the wallcrawler who didn't pay him any mind though, casting his gaze towards the girl clad in blue and -  _she looked like she was shaking in fear._  "Look, we're grateful for any help we can get, kid, but we were alright. Powerman, he's got bulletproof skin so he can _really_  take hits. Anyways, aren't you a little young for the hero gig?"

Annoyance flared up in the girl's dark eyes and she threw her hands up to the sky. "Oh for god's - why does everyone think I'm like, twelve!? I'm just  _short_ , I'm sixteen years old! I have a damn driver's license here, for god's sake," she hissed, oblivious to how Nova seemed to choke on his breath.  _I seriously thought she was twelve..._

Spiderman sobered up from his chuckling from the death glare sent by the shorter girl, and he nodded solemnly, as if he understood her troubles. "Well, sorry. So... _who_  are you?"

The girl hesitated on the answer, her fingers idly spinning the arm guards on her forearms, her top set of teeth chewing into her bottom lip as she debated on answering them. They stood, waiting, when after a long moment, she breathed out, "my name's Tempest."

_Tempest._  Nova tasted the word on his tongue in the barest whisper, tasting the ash from the fight and his uncertainty about the vigilante female, wondering why she was so hesitant and terrified as he saw the quake of her shoulders, the shiver that her hands seemed to bleed as she shrank away.  _Why was she so terrified of other people?_

"How come we've never heard of you?"

Even if her smile was easy, her body was stone. "I keep under the radar, I'm not really very good at making friends anyways," a sidelong glance was sent to Nova, who had unfolded his arms and come to stand by his team, intrigued by the girl and somehow, when her smile reached higher, he knew it was for him. "Anyways, I've got to go now. I'll probably see you guys around."

She was gone before any of them could bid her goodbye, rising into the air and onto the rooftops, sprinting away into the heart of the city and leaving them in the middle of the debris.

The first to speak was Iron Fist. "She seemed nice."

"Hmm, I know," hummed Spiderman, rubbing a hand across his left shoulder blade as he stared after the girl as well, before ripping his gaze away and turning to Nova with a heated glare up his mask that only fueled Nova's own annoyance. "But what I  _really_  want to know is why  _Nova_  already knew her."

As the spider-themed superhero stalked forwards and Nova's hands curled into fists, White Tiger stopped between the two and placing a clawed hand on her boyfriend's chest, looking at him with warning. "We can deal with that later but first, we need to report this to Fury."

At that, Nova started. "Wait, what? Why?"

White Tiger turned back towards him, as Spiderman wrapped an arm around her waist and aimed a web shooter upwards to swing them back to SHIELD. "Because, Fury needs to know that there's a new vigilante running around, idiot. God..." with that, Spiderman swung them away and across the buildings rooftops, leaving Nova under the stares of Powerman and Iron Fist.

"Nova, bread always falls buttered side down."

"...I am  _not_  bread."

"No, he's _toast_  when he gets back to SHIELD."


End file.
